Saw guide

Abstract

An adjustable saw guide for hand-held power saws facilitates a straight-line cut. The guide is adjustable for any width of portable power saw by adjustment and locking of an elongated saw guide member in the proper position on the surface of a saw table slide member which serves as a base of the apparatus. A hand-held power saw rests and slides on the saw table slide member while engaging against the guide member to assure a straight cut. In proper adjustment of the saw guide member for the particular saw being used, the saw (when against the saw guide member) will have its blade just outside and very close to the edge of the saw table slide. This minimizes fraying of the upper surface of the workpiece where the sawblade teeth move upwardly through the surface in cutting. The saw guide apparatus is attached directly to the workpiece by clamps which are adjustable by sliding along a bar. The apparatus may be extended for long or wide workpieces by securing it to another similar apparatus.

I claim: 
     
       1. An adjustable saw guide tool for hand-held power saws, comprising saw table slide member means having an upper surface for supporting the base plate of the power saw as the power saw base plate slides along the upper surface of the saw table slide member means in the course of making a cut on the workpiece,   said saw table slide member means having a flat lower surface engagable directly with and supported on the upper surface of the workpiece and   a side surface having a lower cut indicating edge engagable directly with the upper surface of the workpiece for indicating the line to be cut without any lateral offset of the kind which could arise if the cut indicating edge were spaced from the surface of the workpiece,     said guide member means having a guide edge for engaging a related side edge of the base plate of the power saw to guide the power saw as the base plate slides along the upper surface of the saw table slide member means in the course of making a cut on the workpiece,   locking means for locking the saw guide member means to the saw table slide member means,   said locking means including lateral adjustment means for permitting the lateral position of the guide edge to be adjusted with respect to the cut indicating edge prior to locking the saw guide member means to the saw table slide member means for accommodating different types of power saws having different widths of base plates in a way such that the guide edge acting on the saw base plate positions the saw blade substantially immediately adjacent the cut indicating edge, and   clamping means for clamping the saw guide tool to the work piece by engaging the edges of the workpiece.   
     
     
       2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the clamping means comprises two opposed clamping members and an elongated track means, the two clamping members being mounted on the track means for adjustable longitudinal movement and being positioned to engage against opposed edges of the workpiece to clamp it between them. 
     
     
       3. The invention of claim 2 wherein each clamping member has an opening through which the track means passes, and including means associated with the clamping member and the track means for gripping the track means by friction when the clamping member is engaged against the workpiece. 
     
     
       4. The invention of claim 3 wherein one clamping member has a rotatable cam lock for tightening the two clamping members against the edges of the workpiece. 
     
     
       5. The invention of claim 3 wherein the track means is a smooth bar of constant cross section, and the means for gripping includes means for tilting the clamping members obliquely with respect to the bar when they are engaged against the edges of the workpiece so that the openings in the clamping members are canted and frictionally bind against the bar. 
     
     
       6. The invention of claim 5 wherein one clamping member has a rotatable cam lock for tightening the two clamping members against the edges of the workpiece and increasing the cant of the clamping members on the bar, thereby causing the frictional engagement of the clamping member to increase with increased tightening of the cam lock. 
     
     
       7. The invention of claim 1 wherein the locking means comprise a pair of adjustment brackets extending generally perpendicularly from the saw guide member means, one at each end, lying generally parallel to the plane of the saw table slide member means, with an elongated slot in each adjustment bracket and threaded fastener means extending up from the saw table slide means through each slot for tightening the brackets down against the saw table slide means in the desired position of the saw guide member means.